STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Before the first autumn leaf has fallen, a notepad on the Scaffidi refrigerator lists the menu for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Always on the list is Mrs. Coppola's crab sauce, a recipe not handed down from her mother or mother in law, but rather developed on her own and refined over the last several decades.

“I'm the only jackass who does it that way," she says of the meticulous, hours long process of pulling meat out of crab claws.

"You have to be out of your mind to do it," she says. "Especially when the claws are small. But that little bit of meat gives so much substance to the sauce. They say I'm crazy—and I am."

“But it does come out delicious,” added her son-in-law Basil.

CRAB SAUCE

(Makes 4 to 6 servings)

6 crabs

1 head of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of olive oil

3 cans of whole, peeled tomatoes, either San Marzano or Rienzi

Remove claws from the crabs and, using a tiny fork, pull the meat out of each claw. This step is optional, and the meat removed from the claws can be replaced by (or supplemented with) canned crab meat.

In a blender, blend to a pulp the whole peeled tomatoes.

In a Dutch oven, pour half cup of olive oil and bring heat to medium-high. Add the crabs with about a third of the garlic, and sautée until the crabs begin to turn pink, about eight minutes. Remove the crabs and set aside.

Add the claw meat (or canned meat, if you prefer not to pull meat out of the claws), to the same pot, along with the remainder of the garlic. Add additional oil if necessary. When garlic begins to turn gold, add tomatoes immediately, and cook uncovered over medium to low heat for one hour.

Taste sauce, and add salt and pepper to taste, and a small amount of sugar if needed.